through the hourglass 249. brb x oc
a/n: OHHOHOHO(comments and reblogs are super welcome and encouraged!)
pairing: plus size!oc x rooster
warnings: none uwu
goodness gracious (pls read this one to know more what this fic is about!!)
chapter
1/
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/239/240/241/242/243/244/245/246/247/248
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Beatrice knocked first, interlacing her hands above her womb while Rooster kept one of his on her lower back and the other was busy keeping Nicole close to them. Their oldest daughter was going to turn one in a matter of weeks but she was already moving like she was a teenager.
It wasn’t her fault, Nicole was curious from the second she was born and she wanted to know about the tiny gnomes and crystals all over her great aunt’s garden. The bucket hat she wore fell a bit over her eyes but she quickly pushed it up, “Papa!” Rooster immediately looked down at her, only to see her pointing at a huge plant close by, ‘Geen!”
“Yeah it is green, baby girl.”
“Pant geen.” followed by a long paragraph of babbling that only made her giggle before Rooster picked her up, “Pu-Pu.” and she points to the large lavender flowers swaying with the wind, her body twisting on his grasp.
“Your daughter knows her colors.”
Beatrice smiles, “My daughter?”
“Baby I can barely figure out tones.” he mutters, swiping some dirt that was on Nicole’s cheek with his thumb, then fixing her hat on her head, “I know the basic colors but I damn well know I couldn’t say half of these when I was Nicole’s age.”
“Oh don’t sell yourself short,Roos.” She tried to hide her bouncing leg by moving her hip to the side, eventually making it stop moving, so she could lean into him, “You know and you have a lot of colors in mind.” her eyes flicked to the door, wondering why her aunt was taking so long to answer it.
After all, she knew she was home.
“Yeah…I do love lilac.” he smirks, slowly lowering those brown eyes down the length of her body, the second she noticed what he was doing her cheeks went bright red and she elbowed his arm as gently as she could, “I know you do too–”
Their conversation was cut short because Martha finally showed up. Her long black hair now had silver streaks on it but she still looked the same as the first time. She had a mug with steaming liquid insite and her glasses were on the bridge of her nose, “Bradley,Beatrice, little sunshine, oh–” she sets the mug aside and cups her niece’s cheeks, then her nephew in law and finally her grand niece, in the order, to press kisses on their forehead, “What a wonderful day for a visit, please, please, come in.”
"Thank you for having us, Aunt Martha," Beatrice said as she walked past the threshold with Rooster right behind - and Nicole immediately gasped at how many things were there for her to see. "Sorry for it being so sudden though.”
Martha chuckled, her laugh rich and warm. "As if I’d deny you two from coming over.” she puts her glasses on top of her head and tilts it towards them, “Are you two hungry? I know it’s almost time for you to have something to eat,” she points over at Rooster, winking, “I know you just got back from work too, something special must've happened for you two to come here so soon.”
Rooster smiled, albeit a bit bashfully. "We couldn't resist the opportunity to see you, Martha," he replied. "And well, something...interesting did happen."
Beatrice nodded in agreement, following Martha as she walked, more like floated, to the kitchen "Yes, something quite unexpected," she added. "But we'd love to have a meal with you, if you don't mind."
Martha's eyes twinkled with curiosity as she ushered them further into her home. "Of course, my dears," she said. "I'll whip up something special for you. In the meantime, make yourselves comfortable. Nicole looks like she's ready to explore."
Rooster chuckled as he set Nicole down on the floor, her tiny legs immediately propelling her forward in her quest to investigate her great aunt's kitchen. "You know her well," he remarked.
Martha watched with a fond smile as Nicole toddled around the living room, her eyes bright with curiosity. "Children have a way of bringing so much joy and energy into a home," she said. "It's a delight to have her here." she smiles more, “She also reminds me of Beatrice.”
Beatrice blinked, “Me? Really?”
“Of course you were…” she sighs, “Overly protected by your parents and siblings, but you’d explore as much as you could. You were a very, very special child. Even your cousins could agree to it.” she says softly, her long flowy dress moves like the wind as she walks into the kitchen, “Would you two like some tea?”
“Iced tea?”
Martha smiled fondly at Rooster’s voice, then nodded,”Of course my dear. Iced tea. With honey?”
Rooster and Beatrice exchanged a glance, both appreciative of Martha's thoughtfulness. "Iced tea with honey sounds wonderful," Beatrice replied with a warm smile. "Thank you, zia Martha."
Martha nodded and began preparing the iced tea, her movements graceful and deliberate as she went about her task. Rooster and Beatrice took a seat in the cozy kitchen, keeping their eyes on Nicole as she wobbled a bit
As they waited for their iced tea, Nicole continued her exploration, her curious eyes taking in the various decorations and trinkets that adorned the space. She occasionally babbled excitedly, her tiny hands reaching out to touch anything within her reach.
It caught Martha’s attention when she noticed the dried herbs hanging on the wall, the older woman couldn’t help but hum appreciatively at the sight, “She is very alert, isn’t she?” she asks, the sloshing of the ice cubes hitting the tea adding to the sounds around them.
Rooster watched their daughter with affection. "She's quite the adventurer," he remarked, his eyes never leaving Nicole.
Beatrice nodded in agreement, "She definitely takes after both of us," she replied with a chuckle. "Curiosity runs in the family."
Martha turned towards them with a tray carrying three glasses of iced tea, each one garnished with a thin slice of lemon. She set the tray on the table and took a seat across from Rooster and Beatrice.
"There you go, my dears," Martha said, her eyes sparkling with warmth as she watched Nicole's antics. "I hope you enjoy it."
"Thank you, Martha," Rooster said as he took a sip of his iced tea. The cool, sweet beverage was refreshing, especially after a long day at work. "This is delicious."
Beatrice also took a sip and nodded in agreement. "It's perfect, zia Martha," she added with a smile. "You always know how to make everything feel so welcoming."
Martha's soft chuckle was the reply. "You're too kind, my dear," she replied. "It warms my heart to have you here." Her gaze shifted to Nicole, who was now attempting to climb onto a cushioned chair with a determined expression. "And little Nicole is an absolute delight."
Rooster quickly lifted Nicole from the chair with one arm while the other was busy holding the glass close to his lips, settling her on his lap. "She sure is and she is also a little spider monkey, yes you are.” and he tickled her tummy, earning a gurgled laugh from the little baby girl.
Martha observed the young family with a soft smile, then moved her gaze to Beatrice who looked like the air around her was covered with hearts and her gaze was so soft it was adorable. “You two look a bit tense,however.” she says softly, earning a look from both of them, “What is bothering you two,hm?”
Beatrice and Rooster exchanged a glance, Rooster still had his glass against his lips. It was true that they had been harboring concerns and uncertainties, but they hadn't expected Martha to pick up on it so easily.
But then again.
It’s Martha.
Rooster took a deep breath, his gaze shifting from Bea to Martha. "You have a keen eye, zia Martha," he admitted. "There have been some...unusual developments lately."
Beatrice nodded in agreement, her fingers gently tracing the rim of her iced tea glass. "We received an invitation from…neighbors." she added. "And it's left us with some questions and concerns."
Martha listened attentively, her hands propping under her chin. "I see," she said softly. "Would you like to share more about this invitation?"
Rooster exchanged another glance with Beatrice before nodding. "It came from Miranda Halton," he explained. "She's the wife of Mark Halton, one of my colleagues at work. But the strange thing is, they are…strange. And I know we shouldn’t judge, but they act weird around us.”
Martha's brows furrowed slightly as she absorbed the information. She had a thoughtful expression as she considered what Rooster had just shared. "The Haltons," she mused, her voice soft and contemplative. "I don’t think I’ve known that name, did they just move to your neighborhood?"
Beatrice nodded in response. "Yes, they have," she confirmed. "But we've never really interacted with them much. Well…they mainly interacted with us you know? They just pop out of nowhere too.”
Rooster leaned forward, his fingers tapping on the glass. "It's not just that," he added. "There's something...off about the way they approached us. They mentioned that they wanted us to join them for dinner, and they seemed overly enthusiastic about it. It just didn't feel right."
Martha regarded them both with a knowing look. "You trust your instincts," she said, her tone serious. "That's important. If something feels off, it's best to be cautious."
Beatrice sighed, her fingers gripping the glass of iced tea a bit tighter. "We want to go," she admitted. "But mainly because we want to understand what's going on. It's not just about the dinner invitation. Rooster's promotion at work is at stake, and there might be a connection between the two."
Martha's gaze sharpened as she absorbed the additional piece of information. "I see," she said, her voice tinged with concern as she turns to Rooster, “Is that true?”
Rooster nodded in agreement. "Too much coincidence ends up becoming a fact." he assured her. "But we don’t know, not really, that’s why we want to go there and deal with this already."
“Are you taking Nicole?”
Beatrice leaned back in her chair, her fingers finally relaxing their grip on the glass. "No, she’s staying with Shells, my friend, you remember her,right?,"
Martha's smile widened. "Ah, the Kylie Minogue girl, yes I remember her." she replied. "She has a good heart,I’m glad she’s staying with Nicole.” she says while drinking her own tea, her eyes sharpening towards Rooster, “But there’s something else bothering you, bambino.”
Damn.
Caught again.
Rooster inhales, adjusting Nicole on his grasp, “Well I–” he clears his throat, “I might’ve…seen some things uhhh early today.”
Martha's brows furrowed with concern as she leaned forward, her gaze locked onto Rooster. "What kind of things, Rooster?" she asked, her voice gentle but insistent.
Rooster hesitated for a moment, his eyes darting between Beatrice and Martha. He knew he couldn't keep the strange incident in the nursery a secret any longer. "I thought I saw someone," he finally admitted, his voice low. "In the nursery, with Beatrice and Nicole. But they disappeared when I entered the room."
"It was really strange, zia," she added. "I didn't see anyone there, but Roos seemed certain."
Martha's expression remained serious as she absorbed the information. She leaned back in her chair, her fingers steepled in front of her. "Seeing someone who isn't there," she mused. "That's an unusual experience, Rooster. Do you think it might be related to what's been going on with the Haltons?"
Rooster shrugged, with a soft laugh "I can't say for sure," he replied. “I mean,I’m stressed but I don’t think that could be it.”
Martha nodded thoughtfully. "Did you see what the figure looked like?”
Rooster pondered for a second, wracking his brain. It was so quick and brief he was having a hard time remembering the details, his eyes clenched shut, trying to relive what had happened hours before, “...tall. I think it was a man? Looked like one. I couldn’t see the face though…am I going crazy?”
Martha regarded Rooster with a thoughtful expression, her fingers tapping lightly on the table as she contemplated his words. "You're not going crazy, Rooster," she finally replied, her tone soft and reassuring. "Sometimes, our minds can play tricks on us, especially when we're under stress or dealing with unusual situations."
Rooster let out a sigh of relief, grateful for their understanding. "You're right," he admitted, running a hand through his hair. "I guess I've just got a lot on my mind with work, the twins, and now this dinner with the Haltons. It's probably nothing."
Martha gave him a warm smile. "However-”
“Oh?”
She smiles more, interlacing her fingers together and titling her head at him, “I think that some of the Schiavoni gene is spreading onto you.” her eyes squint when she grins, creating creases on the sides, “Perhaps this is someone who must want to talk to you again, see how you are, how things are.”
Rooster stares at her in silence, then questions, “...like my dad?”
Martha's expression softened immediately."It's possible," Martha replied, her voice gentle. "Sometimes, our loved ones find ways to let us know they're watching over us, especially during significant moments in our lives. It could be a way for your father to reassure you or offer his guidance."
Rooster's eyes shimmered with emotion as he absorbed Martha's words. He had missed his father every day since his passing, and the idea that he might be trying to reach out to him touched his heart.
After all, he did see him during their wedding.
Beatrice reached out to place a hand on Rooster's, offering him support and comfort. "Roos?" she asked softly. "A sign that your dad is with us?"
“I…” he clears his throat, “I-I think I’m gonna go to the bathroom really quick,can you-” he hands Nicole over to Bea and stands up, disappearing from the two women’s sights before either of them could stop him.
“He’s going to be okay.” Marta says when Beatrice looks back to where Rooster disappeared, “The bambino needs to calm down a bit, his promotion and birthday is coming up,tesoro.” she smiles, “A lot of emotion is coming up.”
“Yeah…and Nikki’s birthday and–” she frowns, “How did you know about his promotion?” but her aunt’s smile turns wider as she brings the tea to her lips, winking at her niece, “...right,I forgot.”
“Do breathe,tesoro. You two will enter a new stage.”
“Huh?”
‘Thw twins are coming back, Bradley’s promotion will open doors…but it will also make you two climb some walls.” she says, crossing her arms on the table, “You are aware of that,no?”
Beatrice looks down at Nicole who was happily tapping her hands on the tablecloth, “...yes,I know.”
“Not to mention, your life. You personally.” and this time her aunt’s tone got serious, “Tesoro, do you still have the amulets I sent you?” Beatrice blinks in surprise but nods as soon as she says that, “Good…never lose that,hm? It’ll protect all of you.”
“...Zia,should I be worried?”
Martha’s serious façade dropped and she took another sip of her tea, “Why tesoro,” she grins, tilting her head to the side, “You two have each other. There’s nothing to be worried about. You two are stronger together than apart.”
“...yeah…” she looks back at the bathroom door, a little smile on her face, “I agree.”
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i genuinely don't understand the events between halflife 1 and 2 so if you could actually tell me how the seven hour war started
Oh girl lemme tell ya, it's a doozy (I don't actually remember what that means).
Let's start by setting the time and place, we are in the desert of New Mexico, the date is... unsure, it's somewhere between the 2000 and 2009 since the Half Life manual, Gordon Freeman is late to work, he goes
Oh girl lemme tell ya, it's a doozy (I don't actually remember what that means).
In the 50s the Black Mesa Research Facility was built, they research a ton of stuff but our main focus should be on the secret projects such as research into extra-dimensional travel, teleportation, and the study of the borderworld Xen.
The Black Mesa Incident happend on May 16 200- (between the 2000 and 2009), here's how it started, sometimes before the incident sicence expeditions where performed to study and collect data from Xen using a teleport
withing the Sector F, dozens of researchers died in these researches, but Xen inhabitants and wildlife were still brought to Earth for studies in Sector E. Soon the Xen Survery Teams recover several Xen crystals,
which are studies in Sector C's Anti-Mass Spectrometer.
May 11 200-, Colette Green recives a memo telling her that the surpervision team is intrested in the Xen crystal sample GG-3883, Geen's experiments on this sample revealed some unexpected spectral analysis fluctuations,
she has identified it as the purest and largest sample yet, therefore the sample GG-3883 replaces the original chosen sample EP-0021, usually a change in sample this fast is a violation of normal anomalous material handling protocol,
but these instructions have likely come from the Black Mesa Administrator Wallace Breen, it's apparent that this new sample GG-3883 was brought to Sector C by none other than the G-Man.
May 16 200-, most of Sector C is preparing for the experiment, this is delayed by Gordon Freeman running late, his job is to manually operate the Anti-Mass Spectrometer in the Test Lab C-33/a, this delay is convenient
for the sience team since they use this time to make more preparations and recover from a minor system crash across the facility. The Anti-Mass Spectrometer safety buffer zone is below 90%, but the Sector C staff
takes the risk and boosts the power to 105% Eli Vance argues against this decision but is overruled. Another scientist, Harold, warns Dr. Rosenberg about the danger of this energy boost, so Rosenberg discusses this with
Richard Keller, but Keller has not power to change the operating levels since Breen insisted on this matter, because of this immense power output Black Mesa experiences several minor black outs.
As Freeman enters the test chamber with his HEV Suit on, Gina Cross delivers the Xen crystal sample to the chamber, Colette Green works the Anti-Mass Spectrometer from its lower maintenance level, at this point Eli Vance
is contacted by the G-Man whom whispers to "prepare for unforseen consequences", this makes Eli contemplate on aborting the test, but ultimately decides against it. Freeman activates the device with the rest of the
science team monitoring the experiment from the upper control room, of the scientists notices a small discrepancy in the readings but dismisses it as it goes back to the acceptable bounds. The sample arrives and
Freeman pushes the Materials Handler that holds the crystal into the beam of the Anti-Mass Spectrometer… the result is catastrophic, the main beam pulsates and expands, the Anti-Mass Spectrometer explodes as the
science team try to shut it down and get Freeman out of the room, all to no avail, they get killed by a beam of energy that cascades thru the control room window. As the Anti-Mass Spectrometer goes critial a Resonance Cascade occurs,
this rips a hole thru the dimensional space and teleports Xen creatures into the facility.
The Resonance Cascade has immediate catastrophic effects, the teleported Xen creatures, trapped in an alien environment begin to attack the Black Mesa employees, structural damage is dealt to the facility, elevators collapse
and ceilings cave in, sirens blare thruought the facility, as Gordon wakes up he heads his way thru the remains of Sector C, he sees survivors such as Eli Vance that tells Freeman that all the phones in the facility have
been knocked out as he heals another wounded scientist. Gina Cross, Colette Green and Rosenberg survived and make their way to the surface calling in the military to help with the alian onslaught, the Hazardous Environment
Combat Unit arrive quickly and deploy troops and vehicles via aircraft and trains, they are also instructed to permanently silence the facility personnel, they enter the facility and establish control and begin making
inroads into the extensive underground facilities, thus setting up fortified outposts to keep aliens and survivors at bay, they capture Dr. Rosenberg which sends a distress signal, they lock him in a railway cargo for interrogation,
meanwhile Barney Calhoun our beloved baby boy, awakens in a collapsed elevator, the collapse was caused by the Resonance Cascade, He escapes the crumbling facility, locates and frees Dr. Rosenberg, together they reach
the abandoned A-17 Prototype Test Labs used for teleportation experiments, there they use the teleport to escape the facility after Barney makes a trip to Xen to activate the necessary device for the teleportation and
recharging the spare battery.
Fast forward towards to Chapter 11 of Opposing Forces neatly named The Package, at this point the Black Ops have been deployed for a while in order to cover the whole incident by deploying the Mark IV Thermonuclear Device,
Adrian Shepard, the protagonist of Half-Life Opposing Forces and former HECU soldier sees a Black Ops assassin activate the bomb, Adrian kills the assassin and deactivates the bomb, after he proceeds to a nearby room with the view of the bomb,
he sees G-Man reactivating the bomb, Adrian has no way of going back to deactivate it once again so the destruction of Black Mesa becomes an inevitable outcome, in the meantime Freeman makes his way underground to
finally reach the Lambda Complex, there he jumps into a portal that leads him to Xen, Adrian misses his target Gordon Freeman by mere seconds, seeing him jump in the portal just after opening the door.
Gordon makes his way thru several portals in Xen until he reaches the Nihilanth in its lair, Freeman kills the Nihilanth destroying its brain thus freeing the enslaved Vortigaunts, as the creature dies it floats upward
and explodes in a big green blast that sends Gordon unconcious, when he wakes up he is confronted by the G-Man, which praises his actions and survival skills, he explains that his employers agree that Gordon posessed
limitlessssssss potencial and authorized G-Man to offer him a job, in this time the two have been teleported in several places, the last teleportation takes them to the same tramcar Freeman rode on the morning of May 16,
but flying thry space, Gordon accepts the offer and steps in a portal, finding himself floating in nothingness.
After the Black Mesa incident a small inter-dimensional rift causes Portal Storms to rage all across the Earth, this brings a ton of Xen wildlife onto Earth, protection centers were set up across
the planet to try and deal with these hostile aliens. These portal storms catch the eye of the Combine, an inter-dimensional empire responsible for making the Nihilanth and its minions flee to the borderworld Xen,
the Combine so prepare a full-scale invasion on Earth, this promts a war, a war that ends in just 7 hours. The war ended when theCombine overwhelmed Earth's military forces, so Wallace Breen negotiated Earth's surrender
saving the remaining survivors og humanity at the price of their freedom, Breen becomes the Earth administrator, Eli convinces the now freed Vortigaunts to side with humanity against the Combine.
20 years later the Freeman comes back and that's another walltext
sry if I got something wrong or glossed over some important stuff but my doggo wanted do play, and who am I to say no, I highly reccomend watching stuff like Neinfeld's Half-Life videos or MarphitimusBlackimus
videos that explain some GoldSrc stuff
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